Jobs to meet musicians?!
Question: I absolutely love writing and want to write for a Rock magazine when I'm out of school. I also have a great love for musicians. I was just wondering, are there any other jobs out there that could help me meet musicians and write other than being a journalist or anything else to do with a magazine?
Answers: I absolutely love writing and want to write for a Rock magazine when I'm out of school. I also have a great love for musicians. I was just wondering, are there any other jobs out there that could help me meet musicians and write other than being a journalist or anything else to do with a magazine?
There are other jobs, such as publicists, studio engineer or roadie (heh), but these are fairly specialised jobs and hard for me to give you any specific advice on getting. I CAN however, give you some advice with your rock writing.
Music journalism is a very competitive field, and the very, very vast majority of music journalists dont make enough money to survive on their music writing alone. That's something to be aware of, but dont let it discourage you: It's still fun.
Most music papers arent as strict with their writers qualifications as other media outlets which means that going to university isnt really a requirement. What IS a requirement is to have a good portfolio of work to show an editor who is thinking of commissioning your work. This is pretty much essential.
As a result, it's a really good idea to start practicing as soon as you can with writing reviews of albums and concerts (remember, a LOT of music writing doesnt involve interviews). Go and read some of the reviews on places like Pitchforkmedia.com and the like to get an idea of what editors are looking for in regards to your writing. (It's different all the time, but the basics are the same.)
The other thing is to try and build up a big knowledge of many different types of music. For example, you might like punk rock, but that doesnt mean your editor will want you to ONLY write about punk rock. You need to know about heaps of different types of music because you wont get a choice in what you have to write about until you begin to get more popular.
My advice would be to start up a blog where you can review albums and concerts. It's free to start up and people can comment on your style so you can begin to learn what "works" (I.e Sells papers) and what doesnt.
Finally, dont expect to meet many musicians at first. Generally, editors of a music zine will put their most experienced writer on an interview because they know that they'll (supposedly) get quality from them. They wont let some new person do it because it's important to get right and they dont know what to expect from a new person. So expect to get passed over for interview ops for a while. Dont let it discourage you. It's just the way it works.
Good luck, and remember to have fun. Music writing is nothing if not fun.
go to underground concerts and u will be able to talk to alot musicians easy ask them if u can give them an interview then show that to a magazine let ur friend record it or something
Book bands for local clubs. Work at a sound stage/rehearsal studio. Work at a music store (selling instrumnets, not CD's), intern at a radio station/get a job at a radio station, get into setting up the lighting for concerts, be a groupie/bodyguard, or be a club/concert promoter.
All of these options would probably get you vloser to the artists themselves.
Write for the Rolling Stone. haha, good luck. No, but really if your a good writer, id go for the Rolling Stone.
If you have a Guitar Center near you than you can get a job with them. They also have a website that you could write for if you have the gift of gab. Just be careful with musicians. I am one and we are a different breed. You could also start a web site dedicated to musicians and their music and lifestyles. Good luck and be careful.
Check out guitarcenter.com
Don't write for Rolling Stone. Too many hacks there